lobbyist

noun

lob·​by·​ist ˈlä-bē-ist 

plural lobbyists

: one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation : a person engaged in lobbying public officials

The new rule says that if you were a registered lobbyist in the past two years, you can't work for the administration on any issue you touched. After you leave government, you can't lobby the administration at all.

—Jacob Weisberg

Because so many lobbyists have past experience on Capitol Hill, they usually have personal ties both to members of congress and to their key staffers, who vet and prioritize the earmark requests.

—Ken Silverstein

Examples of lobbyist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Kelli Brassfield, co-chair of the panel and a lobbyist who represents Idaho’s county governments, cautioned that the proposal likely won’t be ready during the 2026 annual legislative session. —Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026

Former House Speaker Steven Tilley serves as the company’s lobbyist and Keller, its spokesperson, has been heavily involved in Republican political circles. —Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 21 Mar. 2026

Campaign finance records reveal that Talarico accepted thousands of dollars more from lobbyists representing Toyota, Home Depot, RTX, DraftKings, Airbus, Airbnb, Anduril, Google, Dell, Northwestern Mutual, State Farm, and a host of other massive corporations. —Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2026

The framework must now be turned into legislation and wind its way through the meat grinder of lawmakers and lobbyists who weren’t involved in the task force’s deliberations. —Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lobbyist

• hobbyist